Accidental Witnesses
by Jedicren
Summary: Marauder era. A two-chapter fic, about Lily & James' 7th year. First kisses and difficult conversations, interrupted by those nearest and dearest. Second chapter, called "The Animagus Conversation"
1. Default Chapter

**Title: **Accidental Witnesses

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and his adventures belong to J.K. Rowling and her affiliates (i.e. not me).

**Notes:** Phoenixsong accepted this for their site, but had a difficult beta situation. So, I decided to post iton thissiteanyway. It's been sitting on my computer for quite some time. Tell me if you like it, and if you DO... put it on your favorite stories list? That would make me so happy!

_Marauder's seventh Year: Late October (after the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match)_

_

* * *

_

The Gryffindor common room was deserted. Empty butterbeer bottles and candy wrappers littered the floor. There was a large banner hung above the portrait hole that read 'We Squashed the Snakes.' The only noise was the quiet crackle from the logs in the fireplace and the light breathing of Hogwart's Head Boy, sleeping soundly on the overstuffed couch.

Suddenly, a door slammed somewhere upstairs; silence followed.

Until...

"OUCH! Sirius, you twat! That was my sodding foot!"

A young man appeared, seemingly pushed out of thin air. He hurtled down the remaining steps and came to rest, grinning, on the maroon carpet below.

Sirius Black pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and crossed his arms. "_You're_ the one who suggested we walk down the stairs underneath the invisibility cloak, Moony," he stated sourly.

"For _heaven's sake, _Sirius!" hissed Remus Lupin as he yanked the cloak off his shoulders. "If you could walk in a straight line, we wouldn't have a problem!"

The Seventh-Year Boy's dormitory door opened again; a pudgy, blond-haired young man bounded down the stairs.

"I found it! I found it!" cried Peter Pettigrew, waving around a large piece of neatly folded parchment.

Remus put his finger to his lips to try and shush him.

"Where was it?" asked Sirius, plucking the Marauder's map out of the chubby boy's fingers when he reached the bottom of the steps.

"On your dresser," Peter answered smugly, obviously feeling extremely proud to have been the one to find it.

"Oh... whoops, didn't look there."

Remus rolled his eyes dramatically. "Let's go before the Head Boy and Girl decide to come back. They should be done with their rounds any second."

Peter looked nervous. "What if James comes back upstairs and realizes we're gone?"

It was Sirius' turn to roll his eyes, "He'll assume I was hungry and dragged the two of you down to the kitchens with me..."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about him coming upstairs anytime soon," Remus interrupted, pointing toward the large sofa near the fireplace.

Sirius and Peter followed him around to the edge of the couch.

James Potter was fast asleep, his hair was sticking up worse than usual and his glasses had slipped off his face and were lying abandoned on the floor. He was still in his Quidditch gear.

"Think we should wake him up?" Sirius asked, plucking his best friend's glasses off the floor and folding them up next to his sleeping form.

Remus seemed to consider it for a minute, "Nah, why deny Lily the chance to yell at him for skiving off on his Head duties."

The three boys sniggered softly.

They were just about to pick up the cloak and leave the common room when the portrait hole began to open. It was too late to run back up the stairs, so instead, Remus, Peter, and Sirius haphazardly threw the invisibility cloak over themselves and backed into the corner near the fireplace. They held their breath as Lily Evans stepped into the room.

It was useful having the Head Boy as your friend; James (had he been awake) wouldn't have hesitated in joining them on a nighttime stroll about the castle. The Head Girl, on the other hand, was a completely different story. She would _not_ have been amused to find them sneaking out of bed to raid the kitchens at midnight. This is why Sirius, Peter, and Remus stayed tucked away under their cloak, waiting for her to leave.

Lily rubbed her eyes sleepily and pushed her long, ginger hair behind her ears. Slowly, she walked toward the fireplace to put out the torches that burned above it. Halfway around the sofa, though, she stopped dead in her tracks. For a moment, it looked like she was going to leave James lying there. Then, she did something that surprised the three boys crouched ten feet away.

Lily quietly knelt down and unsnapped James' wrist-guards, carefully, so as not to wake him. Then, she moved to his legs and tugged the shin-guards off.

James stirred slightly.

Lily pulled a soft maroon blanket over him and stood back up. Leaning over slightly, she delicately tried to smooth down his hair.

James blinked his hazel eyes a few times, waking up slowly.

"Hi," he whispered hoarsely.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered back.

James rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and fumbled for his glasses. Pushing them up on his nose, he sat up slightly and leaned back against the cushions. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight," Lily sat down on the edge of the couch, near his torso.

The three Marauders in the corner tried not to breathe.

James leaned his head back against a pillow and closed his eyes for a second. "I missed our rounds... I'm sorry."

Lily smiled, "I let you sleep... you–played a good game today." She entwined her fingers and glanced down at them.

James tried to smooth down his hair, to no avail. "Mmm... you should thank Alwen, he caught the snitch."

Lily feigned a shocked look.

"What?" he asked, self consciously running his hand along his jaw line.

Lily grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his face. "Nothing. It's... you've—just changed quite a bit. This year has been different than I expected."

James smiled, "You thought I'd be a miserable Head Boy."

"I had my doubts," she said solemnly. "A year ago, you'd have taken all the credit for Gryffindor's win; James Potter was a one-man team."

James rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his neck (alright, so he was _about_ to mess up his hair, but stopped himself at the last second). He thought about making a witty remark, but decided against it, not wanting to irritate Lily.

"I might've helped a little... scored a goal here and there," he said casually.

Lily smiled back. Quickly, she realized she was still holding onto his hand. She made to let go, but noticed a piece of string knotted around his wrist. Frowning, she fingered the tail, which ran from his arm, and disappeared over the side of the couch.

"What's this?" she asked.

James held up his arm for a second before realization hit him. "I didn't want my Transfiguration book to get away," he said, grinning.

Lily raised her eyebrows, "What?"

James tugged on the string.

Lily watched as a large turtle was pulled out from underneath the couch. The string was tied around it's middle. It looked like a normal snapping turtle, except it's shell appeared to be made out of James' textbook; it read, 'Advanced Transfiguration.'

"Erm... Peter was having a bit of trouble with our Transfiguration homework... I was going to let him change it back, but it's late now... might need it tomorrow." He lifted the animal off the floor and tapped it with his wand. Immediately, the turtle's legs, arms, head, and tail were sucked into the shell, which reverted back to book-form.

"I don't know how you manage to do so well in that class without paying attention," Lily commented dryly. Without thinking, she rested her hand on his chest. His breathing seemed to quicken and she could feel his heartbeat under his Quidditch robe. She yanked her hand back and absentmindedly tucked her hair behind her ear.

James sensed her nervousness and stared into her unfocused green eyes. He leaned forward a bit, "I'm glad I surprise you."

Lily chewed on her lower lip. After a second, she cleared her throat, "Me too."

"You're flustered."

Her head shot up, "Am not."

James smiled slightly. "Am I making you nervous?"

"No." She answered, rather unconvincingly.

"Alright," he said, leaning back again. Anyone that knew James could easily see how much effort he was putting into acting nonchalant about the situation.

Lily looked down at her hands again. She sighed, "Maybe... maybe a little."

"Any reason?" he asked quietly. James sat up straighter.

Lily locked eyes with him for a second, "I'm not sure, exactly." She took a calming breath and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "I–it's just that..."

"Lily... do you–do you feel... different?" he asked. "About me, I mean?" Reaching out with a hand, he tenderly tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

It seemed to take her hours to gingerly nod her head.

It was James' turn to take a deep breath. "Lily," he breathed, brushing his fingers against her warm cheek. "I... I'm going to kiss you."

It wasn't a question.

Lily was visibly shaking, "What... what if I'm bad?" she whispered.

James shook his head and rested his forehead against hers. "That wouldn't be possible."

He leaned in slowly, meeting her lips softly, and giving her plenty of time to back off if she wanted to.

She didn't.

Lily's eyes fluttered closed as their lips touched. She placed one hand on his thigh for support and grasped his shoulder with the other.

James moved his hand from her cheek, into her hair.

Lily let out a small gasp into his mouth.

Pulling back slowly, James took a moment to nuzzle her nose with his own.

In the corner, Remus was doing everything he could to muzzle Sirius, who was trying to let out a _whoop_ of surprise.

Lily opened her eyes. "That was..." she cleared her throat and started again, "That felt nice."

James ran a hand through her hair and stared into her eyes, "You have _no_ idea how long I've wanted to kiss you."

Lily smiled shyly, "Was it worth the wait?" she asked.

James ran his hand down her cheek softly, "Lily," he whispered.

Peter, Remus, and Sirius had to lean forward to hear what he was saying.

"When you look at me... I feel like I can't breathe."

Lily blushed and averted her eyes. "I should... probably get to bed. It's late."

James nodded and gave her a half smile as she stood up and smoothed her skirt.

"Goodnight," she said quietly.

James cleared his throat, afraid his voice might fail him, "Night," he managed throatily.

Lily ascended the stairs slowly. When James heard the door shut firmly behind her, he leaned his head back against the cushions and let out a long breath.

Sirius didn't wait another second before ripping the invisibility cloak off his head and leaping into the air. "PRONGS!" he shouted.

James almost fell off the sofa in shock.

Sirius didn't seem to notice. He crossed the distance between them in two steps and leapt unconcernedly onto his best friend's stomach.

James made a loud 'UMPH' sound.

"You didn't tell me that you and Evans were starting to get along!" he said happily, mussing up James' hair.

"More than getting along, I'd say," Remus said as he pulled the cloak of his and Peter's shoulders.

James rolled his eyes and tried to push Sirius off. "If I wasn't thoroughly elated right now, I'd kick your arse, Padfoot."

Sirius, for his part, held onto to James as he fell off the couch onto the hearthrug. James tumbled with him and tried putting Sirius into a headlock.

Remus and Peter exchanged a look and sat down on the empty couch.

"So when did Lily switch from yelling to snogging?" Peter asked.

James, who was laughing as Sirius pinned his arms behind him, shrugged.

Suddenly, a door slammed open upstairs and Lily appeared at the top of the steps. She was now dressed in her Gryffindor colored pyjamas, an annoyed expression plastered on her pretty features. "JAMES! You should be setting an example! If the four of you don't get to bed right NOW, I'm going to take points away!" Her face twitched for a second, as if she was going to smile, but instead, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the dormitory again.

James and Sirius stood up and brushed themselves off.

"I reckon I should listen to her or she'll _never_ let me snog her again," James announced, heading toward the staircase.

Sirius, Peter, and Remus followed suit, laughing madly and clapping James on the back.

"You're one lucky man, James," Remus said, as he pulled open the dormitory door.

"Yeah, I'd have given up long ago," Peter added.

"And that, Wormtail, is why _you've_ never kissed a girl," Sirius sniggered.

"Sod off, all of you!" James said, rolling his eyes and leaping, face first, into his four poster.

"But it felt brilliant, yeah?" Sirius asked, rolling into his own bed.

James lifted his head to look over at his best friend. He grinned, "Too right it did! I won't be able to sleep for days."

_fin_

**

* * *

**


	2. The Animagus Conversation

**Title**: Accidental Witnesses

**Chapter**: The Animagus Conversation

**Note**: I wrote chapter 1 five years ago, and suddenly felt like the story deserved a second part. So, here we go.

* * *

_Marauder's seventh Year: Early December_

The light of the full moon streamed through the large castle window, bathing the hallway in soft light. James stood, staring out into the night, watching the snow glitter toward the ground.

"James?"

He didn't have to turn around; he had heard Lily's light footsteps coming around the corner. "I'm here, Lily," he answered. The damp castle air made him shiver, and he worried briefly about the overdo conversation they were about to have.

She padded softly toward him, her robes swirling around her feet. "Did you sweep the South corridors? I caught Melvin and Littles snogging down in East Hall, you won't believe what they…" she paused for a moment, looking at him curiously, "Potter, did you see a ghost?"

James turned to look at her, his train of thought momentarily disturbed, "Huh? Erm—yeah, I saw The Bloody Baron a few…."

Lily's cheeks turned pink, "Oh, that isn't what I meant—silly Muggle expression… doesn't make much sense at Hogwarts, I suppose."

"Right," he said, thoughtfully adding, "because we see ghosts." The conversation wasn't going the way he had planned.

"Yeah, frequently," she looked down at her feet.

James took a deep breath. "Lily, I have—to tell you something." His voice wavered slightly. He had been avoiding this subject for so long, it was difficult to find the words.

"What—what did you do?" she asked, shaking her head at him.

"Huh?" His eyes shot to hers, searching her face. She looked expectant, a disappointed expression fixed on him. "No, I didn't _do_ anything this time!" He said quickly. He took her hands and led her to a stone bench nearby. "You'd better—erm—sit down."

"James, you're scaring me," she said as she sat.

James knelt in front of her so their eyes were level. He looked down at their intertwined fingers briefly. "Okay, here we go then." He took another deep breath, "Remus is a werewolf," he spat out.

"Yes." Her response was matter-of-fact.

"Right," he said, "you know that."

"His knickname is Moony, Potter… it isn't that difficult to…."

"And I'm an Animagus," he continued, speaking over her. His voice echoed through the empty corridor. The last word had come out more forcibly than he had intended.

Lily's green eyes widened. "Wha—what?"

"We—erm—Sirius, Peter, and I felt bad that Remus had to leave school every full moon by himself. So, we studied the process, and…"

Lily stood up, robes swirling around her, "And you thought that an incredibly difficult and _dangerous_ process was the answer?" she finished his sentence, eyes flashing at him.

He had hoped she would stay calm. "Nothing went wrong, Lily!" He said, standing to face her.

"And you are lucky, James Potter!" she howled, "the library is filled with horror stories about painful… death… and… and… WHEN did you do this?" She turned on her heel, throwing her arms in the air. "HOW LONG did you even study it?"

James gulped, "which question did you want me to answer first, then?"

Lily whirled around again, and shoved James in the chest, causing him to backup a step. "If you had told me before, I could have helped… or… or _stopped you.!"_

James grabbed her wrists as she came forward again, holding her close. "It was fifth year, Lily… we did it during fifth year."

She was breathing hard. She shook her head and looked up into James' face. "What?"

James was grateful that she had stopped shouting. He let go of her wrists and tucked her hair behind her ears, holding her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "The three of us completed the transformation two years ago."

"But… the books say that you have to be a powerful, skilled wizard to—James, you were only fifteen!"

"Sixteen," he corrected. "We technically finished after my birthday." He laid his hands on her shoulders.

"But… how?"

"Look, " he said, "we could discuss specifics all night, but it isn't why I told you." He took her hand, "Evans, I don't _want_ to hide anything from you. I need you to understand… we did this for a reason."

"To help Remus."

"Yes."

"And tonight is the full moon."

"Yes."

She nodded, "alright."

"Alright?"

She looked up at him again, her green eyes soft. "It may be… noble, or stupid. I haven't decided yet." She reached up and smoothed his hair, "but please be careful."

James leaned down and kissed her softly, running his fingers through her silky hair. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. Pulling back, he kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Lily Evans."

She smiled into his chest, "I…."

"_I_ would suggest you head back to your dorms," a low, snide voice said.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut for a second, recognizing the voice immediately. She met James' eyes briefly before stepping backward and turning to face the boy, standing at the end of the hallway.

Severus Snape's mouth fell open, a shocked expression frozen on his face. "Lily?" he asked. Her name reverberated through the empty hallway, spoken with disgust and hurt. He moved slowly toward the pair, each step looked as painful as the next.

"Go, James," she ordered.

James shook his head, "No, I'm not leaving you to get cursed by…."

"Go!" she said, staring at the approaching Severus with narrowed eyes. "He won't hurt me," she added quietly, trying to convince herself as much as James.

James shot her a worried expression, but followed her command, backing toward the castle door slowly.

Severus waited until he was around the corner before speaking. "You're under a spell."

"No, Severus, I am not."

"Then explain to me why you are sleeping with the biggest prat at Hogwarts."

Lily raised her hand and slapped him across the face. Snape stumbled back.

"Explain to _me,_ Severus, why you insult me every time we cross paths! We were friends once."

Snape rubbed his cheek, "Excuse me, which part did you not agree with, Lily? The part about you sleeping with Potter, or him being a prat?"

"I am not a trollop," she whispered.

"But, Potter _is_ a prat."

She thought back to all the times James had annoyed her with his antics. "There is more to him then his prattish behavior."

"Clever choice of words," Snape replied. He looked at her with heavy eyes. "I was hoping you had been Confunded." He turned away from her, making to leave. Partway down the hallway, he stopped. "You don't… love him, do you, Lily?"

She stared at his back, feeling sad. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt someone she once considered so dear. "Yes, Sev," she said softly, "I'm sorry."

He didn't turn around or say another word. With a swish of his robes, he hurried away, leaving her alone in the dark hallway.

Lily took a deep breath and wiped a tear away. Turning toward the stairwell, she took one more look out the window, at the full moon, before starting toward Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

_fin_


End file.
